Nightmare
by RWBYRedReaper
Summary: My first HTTYD fic. Can't think of a summary without spoilers. Hope you enjoy :). No OCs, no Genderbends, no lemons or anything like that, and ABSOLUTELY NO DRAGONIZED HICCUP.
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: This is my first non-RWBY fic, so… be nice_** ** _J_** **** ** _and as always, R, W, and R._**

The Grimborn Brothers' defeat at Dragons Edge was one of the Riders' greatest victories. With the aid of the Defenders of the Wing, the heroes managed to divert most of the Volcanic leakage away from their base, and eventually the magma cooled to black rivets in the mountainside.

With the fall of the Dragon Hunters, the alliance with the Dagur's Beserkers, and most of the antagonistic dragons relocated or trained, the Viking teens had enough time for another vacation. After the Grimora-type dragons, they decided to relax on an island closer to the Edge, close to an endless supply of salt.

They'd visited this island before, but after surveying the landscape for new dragons and not finding any, they'd left for other islands.

Astrid had to admit, she felt a tremendous weight lift from her shoulders. Not only were their enemies defeated, but she no longer had to keep her and Hiccup's relationship secret anymore, and thus could show affection whenever she wanted.

She sat on the shore, watching Fishlegs and Snotlout having a sand-sculpture contest. The twins, however, had taken it upon themselves to throw stones at the sculptures, leading the competing pair to believe the other had done it. The argument only escalated, culminating in Snotlout jumping feet first into Fishlegs' sculpture, destroying it. Fishlegs, in turn, stomped on his adversary's creation with a fiery fury.

Hiccup, who'd been content to watch the fight unfold, reluctantly rose from Astrid's side to prevent further escalation.

"Guys, cut it out. Ruff, Tuff, stop throwing stones. Snotlout, don't be an idiot, and Fishlegs, you're better than that." Hiccup called out authoritatively. The twins rose from their hiding spot, dropping their stones and chuckling lightly. Fishlegs looked down with a sad look, while Snotlout haughtily crossed his arms and huffed, "Fine."

Astrid loved Hiccup. She loved how he'd grown from a weak little stick of a boy to a tall, lean leader. He may have looked thin, but she knew Hiccup had some hidden strength. She'd seen him lay Snotlout out with a single punch, even knocking teeth out.

It was an unspoken rule: Follow Hiccup's orders, or else you get stuck with the most menial task imaginable. He wasn't mean, or overbearing, and knew his team's limitations. He was almost a mirror of his father, at least in leadership skills.

Behind her, she heard a ruckus. Their dragons, who'd gone scavenging for fish, had returned. Toothless bounded to Hiccup's side, dropping a fish at his feet.

"Thanks bud. I guess I am a little hungry," Hiccup said, rubbing his dragon's head, "But you know we can't eat raw fish…" He said, shrugging.

Toothless looked from his friend to the fish, then spat a small plasma blast, roasting the fish instantly before pushing the charred husk toward his owner.

"Well… better, but it might be too much. Don't worry, bud. Thanks for trying." He said, patting his best friend's head again.

"Ruff, Tuff, get a fire going. Snotlout, help them get wood, would you?" He asked, and the three teens slunk away, mumbling about hating work.

They hadn't reached the treeline before a distant roar could be heard. They didn't think much of it, till an answering roar was heard.

Much, much closer.

"Fishlegs. Can you identify it?" Hiccup called out, but Fishlegs simply shook his head in wonder.

Her boyfriends eyes lit up.

"Maybe a new dragon? Toothless, come'ere bud!" He called out, and his dragon obediently obeyed, bounding over and letting Hiccup climb on.

"You three get that fire going. Astrid, come with me." Hiccup ordered, somewhat more excited than usual.

Astrid nodded, quickly mounting Stormfly, and followed her boyfriend to the sky.

She followed Toothless as closely as possible, not letting the black dragon take her boyfriend out of sight. After a few minutes, Toothless banked a hard left, almost throwing Hiccup from the saddle.

"There! Astrid!" She heard him call, and followed his now pointing finger to a large clearing.

The clearing looked natural. The dragon inside? Not so much.

Its body structure mirrored that of a Deadly Nadder, only very shiny black. Each visible scale seemed to shine a different color. Its tail was small and stubby, only a bit longer than a Gronckle's. The head looked very similar to a Monstrous Nightmare, but more blocky and angular. Its eyes were small, but bright. The entire eye shown almost like torches, and were completely red, save a single black slit down the center.

The whole dragon put Astrid on edge. Her warrior's sense screamed 'Fight or Flight', so was relieved, if only slightly, when Hiccup ordered her to stay airborne, "Incase our new friend flies away."

She watched Hiccup land, hop off Toothless, and slowly approach the odd new dragon.

The dragon didn't seem to care for the small one legged Viking inching closer by the second, instead fixed its eye on her and Stormfly, watching eerily. Only when Hiccup accidentally stepped on a crackly tree branch did it look down, now snarling at the intruder.

Hiccup stopped, his hand outstretched. He knew to stop when a Dragon looked at him that way. The dragon's snarl got lower and lower, until barely audible, before opening its mouth wide, and lunge at him. Toothless' quick reflexes kicked in, firing a warning shot of plasma at the attacker. The dragons head didn't stop, continuing its advance until smacking Toothless hard enough to launch the dragon into the trees.

The head had moved… but the body didn't.

"What the-. " She heard Hiccup gasp. The neck had elongated, past that which she had though possible. The dragon now had a neck rivaling that of a certain two headed dragon she knew.

In short amount of time it took for Astrid to realize this, the Dragon's head turned, once again glaring at her boyfriend.

Her instincts kicked in quickly. Hiccup was defenseless, if even for a second, and the dragon was faster than that.

"Stormfly!" she shouted, and her dragon obediently dove toward the clearing.

Her vision blurred in the speed, but heard a high pitched screech, Stormfly roar, and the worst of all, Hiccup screaming.

Her vision went black.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Well, got a review within an hour of uploading. Never happened before, so I decided to write some more. Hope you enjoy. As usual, Read, Write, and Review!**

All Astrid could feel was pain.

It surrounded her, permeated her entire being.

It felt like thousands of white hot knives stabbing at her skin, only to stab again an inch away.

She tried to open her eyes, but the strain was too great. As though something were holding them closed.

Fighting the pain, she tried to listen. Maybe she could… Yes!

"We need to reinforce…" Someone was saying, but it was faint, like it was miles away, but she listened for more.

"Dammit. What happened!?" A gruff voice, much louder than the rest said.

"She says she's never seen this before. It's like the bodies are burning from the inside out." A softer voice said.

"You two. Do you know what happened?" Gruff asked, still agitated.

"No, sir. We were getting firewood, then the screaming, and roaring…" A third voice rang out, familiar, but unknown, "We followed the noise, and found them like this. T and Stormie were going crazy. We didn't see anything, though. We thought they were napping."

"Does that look like a wee nap to you?" The gruff voice asked.

"Stoick. Calm down. They didn't do anything wrong. In fact, I'd say the twins did somethin' right for once." Soft tried.

"I'll bloody calm down when my Son is standin' here in-front of me!"

There was a sharp sound, like wood on metal, and a grunt.

"She says to get out…." A few seconds of silence, before "And that you may be village chief, but in matters of medicine, she's a god."

Gruff voice, Stoick, grumbled, then his voice faded.

"You two, tell us exactly what happened. Don't leave anythin' out." Soft voice… Gobber?

Before the twins could answer, Astrid opened her mouth to speak, but all that came was a scream.

The mere movement of her jaw set new pains and fires throughout her body, and she began thrashing.

"Thor's Beard. Grab'er arms!" Gobber shouted, before a heavy weight settled on her kicking legs, while two lighter yet tough hands clamped on her arms, causing more pain.

"Gothi, we need to stop her thrashin' or she'll hurt herself!" Gobber called.

In a matter of seconds, Astrid felt something soft cover her nose and mouth, and silent blackness overtook her once again.

Snotlout was… not okay. From horrible screams echoing in the forest, to finding Hiccup and Astrid laying on the ground, slightly steaming, and the harrowing ride to Berk, he needed a rest.

The twins volunteered to bring them to Gothi themselves.

The twins.

Volunteered.

If it weren't for the deadly seriousness, he'd have laughed at the thought of Ruffnut and Tuffnut willingly doing work.

He wasn't laughing now. He and Fishlegs sat on the porch of Gothi's hut, waiting for news on their friends.

Toothless and Stormfly had to be locked in the Arena, as they were beside themselves with worry, and caused more damage than they could handle.

Fishlegs was muttering quietly to himself. Snotlout, for once, couldn't care less.

Suddenly, an earsplitting shriek echoed from the hut, and Gobber started shouting.

Snotlout jumped up in shock. He'd recognize the voice anywhere.

'Astrid' was all he thought as he nearly punched the door down.

Said blonde was thrashing on a makeshift cot, the twins and Gobber trying their hardest to keep her down.

"Don' just stand there! Help!" The one handed Viking shouted.

Snotlout suddenly fell to the side. Fishlegs had all but punched him out of the way to help.

He watched Gothi quickly hobble to Astrid's head, holding a small cloth with some dark liquid in it, and put the substance over her mouth and nose.

The effect was instantaneous. Astrid's arms and legs immediately relaxed, and her whimpers slowly faded from existence.

Gobber was angry, which was a rare occurrence.

"I said, tell me exactly what happened. Why Astrid and the Chief's son look like they're being burned alive?" He said, soft yet stern.

"R-Ruff, Tuff and I were supposed to get wood for a bonfire. I don't know where Fishlegs went, but we went into the forest on a beach. We say Astrid and Hiccup fly inland, and didn't think much of it. Until…" Snotlout couldn't continue.

He considered himself strong and unemotional, but knew he was. Even so, the sounds he heard were the kind he never. NEVER. Wanted to hear again.

Ruffnut took over. "We heard them screaming, and ran to help. Found them on the ground. Toothless was limping, and Stormfly was running in circles, shooting fire everywhere. We loaded them up, and came straight here."

Gobber sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "Well, if Astrid had an episode like this, Hiccup can't be far behind…" The teens looked to the other cot.

Hiccup, though silent, seemed worse than Astrid. Long red hives and burns festered and smoked on his hands and face.

It was unreal. Hiccup was always the one to escape unharmed. Snotlout hated to admit it, but his friend was much stronger than he was. Emotionally, physically, and morally. H was also a much better dragon-rider than he could ever hope to be.

To see his leader lying on the cot, burnt and incapacitated, was almost enough to break him.

"All of you, except Fishlegs, go do your chores. Gothi and I have them in good hand…s…" He spoke softer than before, and smirked slightly at his pun.

Once again, Astrid woke.

This time, the pain was much less. Still near unbearable, but she could focus on hearing different things.

There was loud shouting, thudding, and them more shouting.

She once again attempted to open her eyes, and succeeded.

She stared at a wooden ceiling, covered by dozens of animal skins and leaves.

Gothi's house.

Nearby, she thought she heard someone laughing.

She moved her head, squinting at a wave of pain and nausea that overtook her, and looked around.

She saw Gobber's large form sitting in the corner, his face illuminated silver moonlight, tears pouring from his eyes.

He wasn't laughing, he was crying.

"G…Go…" She tried.

He jumped, looking around wildly, before his wet eyes settled on her.

He looked like he was going to start crying again, but sniffled heavily, and approached her.

"Astrid… girl… how do you feel?" he asked, very softly.

"Like… a… yak… stampede…" She spoke slowly, her throat was very dry.

"Drink this, lass. Here ya go." He almost whispered, before helping her to a sitting position and pressing a cup to her lips.

She drank the liquid heavily.

She went to look around the hut, not noticing how Gobber moved slightly to block her view of the far wall.

"You gave us quite a fright, lass. What happened?" He asked.

"Hiccup and I thought we found a new dragon. It was in a clearing. I haven't seen one like it before… but Hiccup tried to train it. It charged them and… I went to help… I don't remember anything after that."

She noticed Gobber seemed to flinch at Hiccup's name.

"Well. You're okay now, lass. You should rest more."

"Gobber… where's Hiccup? I heard him scream." She asked.

He flinched again, but ignored her, leaning her back.

"Gobber. Where. Is. Hiccup?" She asked again, punctuating her sentences.

He huffed, and sighed, "I was never good at this." He said, before stepping away.

Her eyes widened, freshly hydrated mouth went bone dry, and her breath hitched painfully.

There, on the secondary cot, lay Hiccup.

Covered by a death shroud.

 ** _"_** ** _NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_**

 **A/N: Sorry, not sorry. This idea's been stuck in my head for a long time. So... yeah.**


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: First order of business: I usually don't binge write like this, but 3 reviews and I'm really into it._

 _Second, some recognition._

 _FanWriter02: Thank you! I feel the same about cliffhangers. And I certainly did update soon. And will do so again!_

 _Fantasygirl17178: Thank you!_

 _And last but not least… Guest: You'll have to read to find out. And a dragon of my own creation… Don't usually do that, but needed a specific dragon to do a specific thing so… it was born._

 _Without further ado… The third (and hopefully) last chapter OF THE NIGHT._

Astrid's life had become a monotonous, colorless, emotionless void.

She got up every morning, excercised, flew Stormfly, then Toothless, ate breakfast, completed her chores, flew the dragons again, and then slept.

Day in, day out.

The entire village had changed. Hobbies and activities she used to love had lost their charm.

She didn't go to the Arena, preferring to keep away from those memories.

She passed the twins, Snotlout, and Fishlegs infrequently, but didn't greet them as she usually would.

She knew they were all hurting, but she felt like she lost a bit of her soul.

Hiccup had been the one to open her eyes to the world around her.

If he weren't for him, she'd have killed Stormfly and the other Dragons, and his father may have gotten the entire Berk military killed going after the Red Death.

Instead, his actions not only led to the death of the Queen dragon, but had allied Berk with the Berserkers and Outcasts, wiped out the Dragon Hunters, and most of all, earned a place deep in her heart.

A place that was now darker than the deepest night.

She knew her friends worried about her. They frequently came to her house, but she hid in her room whenever that happened. If they met her on the road, she acted like they weren't there. She barely spoke, she barely ate, barely slept.

Every word she uttered reminded her of him. Every time she ate, she'd imagine him by her side. Every time she slept, she dreamt of him.

This went on for a few weeks, until her parents called for help.

On one of her many monotonous errands, she heard a voice behind her, telling her to stop. She just kept walking.

"Astrid. Stop." The voice called again, more stern this time, but she ignored it.

A skinny but strong hand clamped on her shoulder, spinning her around.

"Astrid Hofferson, come _on_." Ruffnut said, uncharacteristically angry, to which Astrid obliged, hazily looking at her old friend.

"You need to stop. You're running yourself ragged. Everyone's worried about you, even the Chief!" Ruffnut continued.

No response.

"Astrid. Come on. I know… _what happened_ … was hard. It was still hard on all of us. And still is, but we still hang out, and frankly, that's really selfish of you." She said, crossing her arms.

The last sentence snapped Astrid out of her haze.

" _Excuse me?"_ She growled.

Ruffnut perked up at first, then put her arms up, "Hey, I'm just say-" she tried to explain.

"No. Go back. You called me selfish. How the Hel am I not supposed to be? I lost my boyfriend. I lost the one friend I could always count on to help, to listen, to…to…" Astrid began rambling, finally opening the floodgates of her emotions, "I loved him. I really loved him. And I failed him. If I'd been faster… if I'd goaded Stormfly sooner… if I were so gods damned useless…" Tears began to form in her eyes, "I wish it'd been me. I wish I were the one who died. I can't go on like nothing happened. I can never do that."

Ruffnut just stared at her, before wordlessly grasping her shoulders, "I'm being as real as I have ever been, Astrid. Your friends need you. You lost… him… but to us, we may as well have lost two friends."

Perhaps it was the unexpected truth in the statement, or that it came with unexpected sincerity from Ruffnut, of all people, but Astrid finally broke down.

Ruffnut did nothing but rub her friends back, letting the broken Viking sob into her shoulder.

"Let it out, sister," Ruffnut soothed, "Just let it all out…"

Ruffnut spent the rest of the day with Astrid, helping her with both her remaining chores and lasting emotions, before bidding her goodnight in front of the Hofferson household.

"Promise me you'll come see us at the Arena tomorrow, okay?"

"I… I promise." Astrid said, and she meant it.

She avoided her parents concerned gazes at dinner, and retired shortly thereafter.

She expected to stay awake all night, but was surprised to find herself drifting off minutes later.

 _She opened her eyes, only to widen them with fear._

 _She was in the ocean, the sunrays dancing infront of her vision, but seemingly from every direction._

 _She held her breath, looking around wildly for the surface, but it simply wasn't there._

 _She felt a hand on her shoulder, spooking her enough to gasp._

 _'_ _Wait. I can breathe underwater?' she had time to think before she was forcefully spun around._

 _It was Hiccup._

 _She shrieked, pushing backwards._

 _He was dead! She saw him! She was there at the memorial ceremony!_

 _But there he… floated… in all his thin glory._

 _"_ _Astrid," 'Hiccup' spoke without moving his mouth, "You need to come back with me. I need you."_

 _"_ _No… You're dead! I…" She'd been ready to say she didn't want to die, but now that she thought about it…_

 _"_ _Don't Die, A. I need you!" He said, before slowly gliding back._

 _"_ _NO! COME BACK! I'M COMING. STOP!" She called after him, but he soon disappeared in the distance._

She started awake.

The sun was gleaming through the window. Must be at least midday.

'I… was dreaming?' she thought to herself.

'I knew it. Sleeping only makes me see… _him_. I can't go through that again,' she continued, 'I should get up. Mom and Dad must be so angry with me for sleeping in.'

She quickly clothed and headed downstairs, bracing herself for an argument.

"Astrid. Please sit." Her father said, looking stern, and she complied, expecting the worst.

"Astrid. You know we love you… but we can't let you do this." Her mother said, walking in from the kitchen.

"What?" Astrid said in bemusement.

"We talked with Stoick, and… he's agreed to exempt you and your friends from chore duty for a week. Their parents agreed, even Spitelout. They're all worried about you, girl." Her father explained, "and so are we."

"But-" Astrid started, but her father stopped her.

"I never thought I would ever say this, Astrid, but so help me, if you do a single chore this week, you'll be grounded for a month."

Astrid could only look on in shock. Her parents never had to threaten her before, even as odd as it was. She slowly nodded, then stood.

"Your friends are all waiting for you in the Dragon Arena. I suggest you hurry." Astrid could only leave in a daze.

She quickly found herself outside the giant stone structure, hearing roaring and laughter inside.

She cautiously pushed the door open and walked in.

Instant memories flooded her mind. Hiccup was everywhere.

At the door.

By the stalls.

Hanging from the chain ceiling.

Tears stung her eyes, but she blinked them away.

Her friends needed her, and she needed them.


	4. Chapter 4

**A.N: Not much to say, other than Enjoy…**

 **Oh, and recognitions!**

 **Fanwriter02: I don't know why, but I write sad stories better than happy ones.**

 **Gummybear1178: Oooookay**

 **Nightfurylover112: That review made my night. Thank you so much! I think I PM'd you.**

 **Anyway, on to the story!**

The arena hadn't changed much since the last time Astrid had been there. Other than the fact it was very dirty, and wreckage was everywhere, it was more or less the same.

"Wha-?" Was all she could say to the state the stone structure was in.

"Astrid? Y-you came!" Fishlegs called out, sitting up.

They were all sitting around a weathered table, which wasn't out of the ordinary, until she saw distinct burns and holes in the surface. It looked familiar.

Fishlegs walked over and gave her a hug.

It was hard, but soft at the same time.

"We missed you." He said sadly.

"Hel, yeah, we did. Some leader…" Tuffnut spoke playfully, also approaching.

"Wait-" Astrid began, but Ruffnut cut her off by slapping him upside the head, "Knock it off, you."

Before Tuffnut could retort, Snotlout chimed in, "That goes for you, too, ya muttonheads. Let the girl breath!"

Astrid took a moment. They all acted normal. It was weird. She felt anger bubble slightly inside her.

"You." She said, struggling to contain her annoyance and pointing at Tuffnut, "What did you call me?"

"I said you were our leader… now that-" Tuffnut stopped, looking around nervously, but didn't continue.

"Did I _say_ I wanted to lead you?" She said slowly, the anger now surging more powerfully.

"No, but-" Fishlegs began, but Astrid interrupted him.

"Did I even say I wanted to be a dragon rider?"

"No, but-"

"How… How could you even bring that up? Without Hiccup, I don't want to be one." She said, instantly feeling a pang of depression.

She had barely said his name since it happened, and if she did, it'd be with a heavy amount of anxiety.

The room became dead silent, but Astrid couldn't stop now.

"Dragons have hurt this town a lot more than they helped. Stoick's wife, the Berserker war, the Dragon Hunters, and now this." She spouted, too enraged to think.

Snotlout gasped before pushing Astrid, "STOP!" He shouted, now equally as angry, "Without the Dragons, we'd have been invaded by the Outcasts, and probably the Berserkers anyway! How dare you blame moderately innocent animals for mistakes they didn't even commit?"

"If it weren't for a dragon, we wouldn't be in this situation! If it weren't for a dragon, I would have been able to get to him faster! If it weren't for _me_ , Hiccup would still be alive!" She ranted, before realizing what she'd said.

Her anger evaporated instantly.

Snotlout stopped cold, staring at her, surprised.

"I-I killed him. I-I killed my boyfriend…" She said in a small voice.

She hadn't really thought of it until now, but she realized it was the truth. Her slow reaction caused this. She hated herself.

Although she'd ridden Stormfly, it was only for exercise. She'd not taken enjoyment from the task, and had always assumed it was Stormfly's fault, or at least a dragons' fault.

She now knew that wasn't true.

Her eyes began to water, and she took a few tentative steps backward, ready to run.

Snotlout took a step forward, before grabbing her, pulling her into a tight hug.

Fishlegs and the twins followed instantly.

"It isn't your fault. It was never your fault." Ruffnut whispered into her ear, but it did nothing to assuage her mood.

"If anything… it's that _one_ dragon's fault. The one you said you saw on the island." Ruffnut's voice became uncharacteristically cold, "It's that dragons fault, nothing or nobody elses. And we need to make sure it knows it."

Astrid disengaged the hug, "What?"

To say she was surprised was an understatement. She'd never heard Ruffnut wish serious harm on anything.

"We talked about it, and… I think we should pay that island another visit. Snotlout and my brother are all for it. Fishlegs, on the other hand…" Ruffnut continued.

"The dragon was just scared!" Fishlegs argued.

"It had more than enough time to run or fly away!" Astrid snapped, her anger returning.

"Let's say I agree with you! How in Midgard are you going to find the dragon? IT could have left the island, or tunnel, or even change colors!" Fishlegs argued, smiling slightly, thinking he'd stumped them.

"We're not stupid. We have friends… Who do you know that constantly tracked and trapped dragons with an annoying consistency?" The shorter Viking argued back.

Fishlegs face drained color, "You don't mean…"

"HAHAHAHA, hello!" A voice said behind her.

"Oh… no…"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Another upload!**

 _Recognitions:_

 _Gummybear1178: Yep._

 _Nightfurylover1112: You'll see. Also, I use the phone app for , and sent a thing through there. It's free._

 _Anyway, on with the story! R, W, and R!_

"HAHAHAHAHA! Hello!" said a voice behind Astrid, causing Astrid to spin around in shock.

"Dagur!?" She said, surprised the Berserker chief would willingly come to Berk.

"The one and only, sister! Also, SISTER!" He shouted before giving a wild scream-like call.

In the distance, the call was echoed, but much more high-pitched.

Toothless seemed to materialize from the shadows behind them, bounding over and cooing gleefully.

"Hey, there, friend! How are ya!" the crazed chief asked, happily stroking the night fury's nose.

This was all too weird, "What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Snot-hat sent me a dragon carrying a letter. Horror-post? Scary-letters? Whatever. But it mentioned you needed help catching a new dragon. I figured my second in chief could handle the tribe for a few days… Heather came too!"

As if on cue, the long form of Windshear came into view above them, "Last time she was here, things weren't so… friendly." He said before whispering, "Actually, the same is true for me… I almost killed that Zippleback last time… HAHAHAHAHA"

"But water under the scauldron. What kind of dragon has the infamous Dragon-riders call for my help?"

Fishlegs spoke up, albeit nervously, "It's a mystery class, never seen one before. Black scales, deceptively long neck, red eyes."

Dagur listened to the description, nodding more and more knowingly.

"Uh-huh, uh-huh… Yep, I've never heard of one like that. Did you try the Dragon-eye?"

"No… That was destroyed. H…Hiccup threw it in a volcano."

"Well… That's my brother. He did like his big productions. Anyway, when do we leave?"

Snotlout answered, "As soon as possible."

"Oh good! I hope you have a boat!"

"Why a boat? Where's Shattermaster?" Astrid asked, now noticing the lack of pale green gronckle.

"Oh, she's back on Berserker Island. She's still hurt from the Dragon Hunters. Plus, why not a boat? If you want, I could chase you around a little… Just like old times?" He added, smirking.

Getting the chief to loan them a boat was easy.

Stoick supported their decision whole-heartedly, voicing his opinion before quickly returning to his duties.

Before the sun rose, they were well on their way.

Heather and Fishlegs settled on the prow of the ship, talking in hushed tones, while Snotlout and the twins took over the back of the boat, playing a weird card game. The Dragons were currently flexing their wings, save Toothless, who was curled up on the deck, napping heavily.

Astrid spent her time looking off the stern, watching the rocky sea stacks pass by, remembering every single one she and Hiccup had visited.

"Sooo…. Asterisk…." Dagur said, walking to her side.

"It's Astrid, and what?" she asked, somewhat annoyed to be pulled from her reverie.

"Nothing, nothing!" He said, putting his hands up, "I just wanted to know if you could tell me more about our prey?"

"No."

"My, ever the talker. I can see how you two got along." He said, smirking lightly.

Astrid sighed, "If that's it, go away."

"Oh-kay! I just wanted to say, I know what you're going through. At least a little."

"What? You had a dragon kill the person you loved, which was your fault, and had to hunt it?" Astrid asked mockingly.

"Well, no. Not exactly. I meant the feeling you're… feeling right now. The anger, the lust for revenge. I know that particular subject more than Thor knows Loki. And I can tell you exactly what I told Hiccup. Vengeance isn't a good look for you. It's not a good look for anyone."

"Wait. When did Hiccup ever want revenge like that?" Astrid asked, annoyed, but interested.

"A long time ago. Toothless was hit by a dragon root arrow, and I found him and your boyfriend on Waterfall Island. I helped him get his dragon back into fighting shape. Hiccup was… almost unrecognizable. He wanted to kill Viggo. One thing led to another… changewings, fireweed, and falling from a waterfall cave later…" Dagur said, beginning to ramble.

"Dagur." Astrid called, snapping her fingers a few times.

"HAHAHA, what? Oh, yeah, revenge. If you're planning on hurting this dragon, which I know you are, just know that's not what Hiccup would have wanted. Revenge is a horrible thing, Attila." Dagur said, before strolling toward the prow.

 _Astrid found herself back underwater, breathing normally._

 _She hadn't had a dream like this since that time a few days ago._

 _She knew what to expect, though, and looked around wildly, excitedly looking for her lost love._

 _Sure enough, Hiccup soon materialized behind her._

 _"_ _Astrid…" He spoke softly, but again his mouth didn't move. It sounded stranger, though, like it was both distant and close at the same time._

 _"_ _Astrid. You can't…" He said, but she cut him off._

 _"_ _Hiccup, that dragon killed you. Hurt me. I need to do this."_

 _"_ _You can't go…"_

 _"_ _I know you love dragons, but sometimes, they're just… evil."_

 _"_ _No…"_

 _"_ _Hiccup. I love you. I really do, but if all you're going to do is stand there and defend that… damn dragon, then…" She couldn't finish the sentence._

 _What could she do to him in a dream? Why would she want to hurt him? He was just being himself._

 _Her anger ebbed away._

 _"_ _Hiccup. I… I can't do this without you. Dragons, dragon riding… When that beast is dead… I… I'm coming. I'm coming to you."_

 **A/N: Another shorter upload, but hey. I was bored.** **J**


	6. Chapter 6

**_A/N: Well, results are in! Some PMed, some reviewed. I removed the A/N chapter to keep it fresh for new readers. Here's the next chapter! Enjoy! And R, W, and R!_**

The boat ride to the island was fairly uneventful, at least for Heather.

Fishlegs and Heather had fallen asleep against each other, but were quickly awoken by Dagur's laughter.

Turns out the crazy berserker laughed loudly in his sleep.

Heather looked around the ship. The twins had fallen asleep on their dragon, while Astrid rested against Stormfly. Her face, usually blank, was screwed up, crying slightly.

Her dragon sensed this and shifted, becoming more like a cradle than a pillow.

When Heather herself had heard of Hiccup's passing, she was shell-shocked. She hadn't believed it at first, but when she saw it was signed by Stoick the Vast, Chief of Berk, and had the official seal, she knew it was true. There was no joking about that.

Her brother took it the same way, didn't laugh for days, which disconcerted her more than when he did laugh.

Although she wasn't as… involved with Fishlegs as Astrid had been with Hiccup, she knew if something happened to him… she would be right where Astrid was.

On a ship with her friends, ready to kill that which had robbed her.

She sat still, feeling Fishlegs' comfortable breathing against her, before noticing Astrid now staring at her.

"I can't sleep." The blonde axe-wielder muttered.

"Me neither. Something about this. What we're doing… it doesn't feel right."

"Your brother already said that. I made up my mind."

"Then, for once my brother is right. There's nothing he knows more than the danger of-" Astrid cut her off, "-Of revenge, I know. Don't you start on that."

Snotlout suddenly began shouting, "I see the island!" from the top of the mast. They'd installed a 'dragon's nest' for an operable lookout.

Everyone stirred, groggily standing to their feet.

Astrid rushed to the front of the ship, squinting angrily, "That's it. That's definitely the island."

Heather grabbed her shoulder, "I've said my piece. If you still kill that dragon, know I'm right behind you. I just won't like it."

Astrid shrugged her away, "I understand. I will kill that dragon, and then…" Astrid suddenly stopped herself, pressing her lips together.

Before Heather could inquire further, Dagur spoke up.

"We should leave the boat out here. Dragon flight is a lot less noticeable than a boat, at least on a wild island like this. HAHAHAHA, sorry. If you find the dragon, don't get close to it. We'll go in pairs, twins not included. Fishlegs and Heather," He gave his sister a knowing glance, to which she blushed, "Snotlout and Astrid, and… well, I miscounted. I guess I'm stuck with you two muttonheads…" He said, glaring lightly at the twins.

"Well, I take defense at that! Or was it fence post? Post office?" Tuffnut said, now thoroughly confused.

Astrid searched for what seemed like hours. Thankfully, Snotlout stayed quiet, equally alert.

She felt like she'd been looking for hours, and the sun's position proved it'd been only 4 hours.

She was just getting ready to land, give Stormfly a break and some food, when a bright flash to her right distracted her.

"That looked like a Gronckle blast! Meatlug distress signal!" Snotlout shouted before banking hard in the direction.

Astrid followed suite, putting her all into pushing Stormfly's speed.

If Heather and Fishlegs found that dragon…

A cold feeling suddenly washed over her.

'What if they found it, and it took them down? It was faster than anything I've seen, aside from a speed-stinger… I hope the distress call wasn't a _distress_ call…' Astrid thought, now gripping the reigns very tightly.

They reached the site within a few minutes, and saw what seemed like a small battlefield.

Heather and Fishlegs were cowering behind a pile of rocks while Windshear fought off…

The Dragon.

It was that dragon. The one from her nightmares. The one that killed her love.

She was too far away, however, and watched in horror as the Dragon almost absent-mindedly swept the armor wing away, and lashed out with his head, aiming for the little part of Fishlegs not behind the rocks.

Time slowed down. And someone screamed.

She felt a hot blistering heat wash over her, and saw a veritable fireball speed past her, intercepting the Dragon's head before it met its mark.

There was a violent blue flash and a shriek of pain upon connection, and, almost like a switch was thrown, the Dragon turned lazily, and seemingly disappeared into thin air.

She looked back at where the Fireball had gotten hit, and her heart nearly stopped.

There, in almost a perfect circle of burnt rock and wood, lay Snotlout and his dragon.

She goaded Stormfly faster than ever, and dismounted before her dragon made a complete landing, rushing to her friend's side.

His skin seemed a live with hidden flames, and his dragon seemed unconscious.

Fishlegs knelt at the smaller Viking's side, pressing his ear to his chest.

His sudden pained gasp told her everything she needed to know.

The damn Dragon had claimed another friend.

 _ **A/N: Well then. That was a thing. Hope y'all enjoyed!**_

 _ **P.S. If anyone has any inkling to the future, pm me and don't spoil it to others. If not, stay tuned!**_


	7. Chapter 7

Astrid was beside herself, yet calm.

She wanted to rip the island apart tree by tree until she found that dragon, but also didn't want to move.

The rest of the teens set up a camp, now thoroughly riled and angry, but worked as a team.

Dagur, of all people, was the only one to keep a level head, constantly restraining his angry acquaintances. Perhaps that was how he was able to stay so calm.

Though he knew Snotlout, he never really knew him, or befriended him.

Oh, that's not to say he wasn't angry, but out of all of them, he was the least so.

Astrid spent the time staring at the small mound of dirt held what had once been her friend. Hours passed, and she remained still. Slowly, but surely, exhaustion took over, and she fell into a troubled sleep.

 _She had returned to the ocean, which she had named 'the nether'._

 _She knew Hiccup would turn up, say some vague things, then disappear._

 _Sure enough, her boyfriend's slender form soon appeared._

 _"_ _Astrid…"_

 _"_ _Hiccup. I can't keep doing this. Coming here. That damned Dragon… It needs to be put down."_

 _"_ _Astrid, please…"_

 _"_ _No, Hiccup. That thing can't keep living. It killed you AND Snotlout. Almost killed Fishlegs…"_

 _"_ _Astrid, I love you…"_

 _"_ _If you really think that's going to stop me, then… Then you must not have known me very well." She said angrily, but also shaken._

 _Her vision of Hiccup never said_ that _before… but she couldn't get distracted._

 _Suddenly, Hiccup turned and looked her in the eye, seeming to blur a little as he did so._

 _"_ _Astrid, you're better than this. What happened wasn't the Dragon's fault. It was mine. I shouldn't have tried to train it. Should have studied it. I hate myself for it, but I can't watch you wither away like this. Here." He held out his hand, which she tentatively grasped._

 _The lack of landscape changed, swirling and twisting, colors faded in like inkblots. It made her head hurt._

 _She closed her eyes, until a bright light shown through her eyelids._

 _She opened them and gasped._

 _She was facing the sunset over the ocean._

 _Looking around, she realized she was back on the Edge, Hiccup sat next to her, still holding her hand._

 _She recognized this… from her memories._

 _It was after she'd gotten her vision back after being blinded._

 _Hiccup was now staring at her, and she looked at him._

 _They kissed._

 _It was bliss. She'd forgotten what it felt like… what_ he _felt like. She wanted this moment to last forever, even if she didn't wake up._

 _"_ _I can't keep doing this, Astrid…" Hiccups voice spoke in her mind again, "You have to wake up."_

 _She shook her head vehemently. If this was her eternity, she welcomed it._

 _"_ _Wake up."_

 _"_ _No."_

 _"_ _WAKE UP! ASTRIIIIIIIIID!"_

 _The last voice wasn't Hiccups. It was higher pitched, and seemingly came from all around her._

She opened her eyes.

"ASTRID, RUN!" Someone was screaming.

She sat up, and almost scream.

The Black Dragon was right _there._ Not two feet from her, staring at her with an almost smug look.

Stormfly flew overhead, firing spine shots at the intruder.

The spikes of bones didn't even faze the beast. Its armor seemed too thick.

With a great battle cry, Dagur lept at the beast, an axe in both hands.

A lazy flick of it's great head sent the redhead berserker flying into the treeline.

It opened its mouth, a pitch black void, and a blue flash began to emit from its depths.

She knew what was coming, but didn't care.

' _This is it… I'm coming Hiccup…'_

A flash of red light coated the great Dragon's head, and it shrieked in pain.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!"

Fishlegs and Meatlug came out of nowhere, body slamming the great beast hard enough to unbalance it.

"Windshear! Hookfang!" Heather called out, and two great jets of flame slammed its flank.

The beast finally collapsed on its side.

Barf and Belch jumped on it, pinning it to the ground.

"Yeah-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA" Dagur cheered wildly.

Astrid felt relieved. She'd done it. She'd conquered the dragon that killed her friends.

One axe thrust, and it'll be over.

The dragon seemed to realize this and seemed to deflate and collapse on itself.

Suddenly, it seemed like the air itself erupted in a scream.

A powerful shockwave shot from the Black Dragon's maw, strong enough to send rider and dragon sprawling.

She felt something give in her right arm when she landed.

Blinding pain overtook her, causing her to scream and roll on the hard ground.

Through her tears, she saw several flashes of blue.

She heard several screams.

"LOOK OUT!"

"NO!"

"RUFF!"

"HEATHER!"

Then silence.

Other than her pained gasp, not a sound was heard.

She forced her eyes open, only to stare back at lifeless eyes.

Fishlegs.

Screaming, she backed away, wincing greatly from the pain in her broken arm.

She looked around wildly.

Bodies.

Her friends still bodies littered the ground.

The dragons too.

It was too much.

One figure still stood, crouched, holding her axe.

The figure walked over to where she lay.

"H-h-help…" She squeaked.

The figure smirked, chuckling mockingly, before lifting the axe over its head.

The last thing she saw before darkness overtook her vision was…

Her own face, illuminated by the moonlight, smiling crazily.


	8. Chapter 8

**_A/N: Well… This story lasted a lot longer than I thought… although in a much shorter amount of time. It's rapidly approaching the end, maybe one or two more chapters. I hope you guys enjoy_** ** _J_**

 ** _As usual, R, W, and R!_**

 ** _Also, 'Guest' It is odd. I am certainly not blocking people's reviews, but I see them show up in my email. Maybe it's because you're a guest?_**

For the second time in two months, Astrid awoke to pain.

This time, however, the sore spot was in her arm.

She heard something scraping, like rock on metal, and slowly opened her eyes.

Someone had made a campfire while she was unconscious, and now sat hunched over it, sharpening an axe.

With great effort, she rose to a sitting position, getting ready to jump.

The figure sat up and turned to look at her.

"Finally, you're up." Said a familiar voice.

It was Dagur.

Astrid was instantly on guard. Did the berserker attack them, and save her for last?

No… she saw his face.

He was angry. More so than she'd seen him before.

"Wha-what happened?" She asked, her throat dry.

"That damn dragon… and something else. Knocked me out before the Dragon broke free. Must have helped it… k-.." He stopped, a nasty sneer on his face, "hurt our friends. And my sister. The dragon's dead. It melted or something, but whoever attacked me is still out there, and we're gonna find him."

He tossed her a water sack, "How's the arm?"

"Not good. I think it's broken… yep, definitely broken." She said through grit teeth.

"I fixed it best I could. Hopefully that's not your dominant. Was never good at first aid either. Better at causing it. You stand?"

"Yes, why?"

"You're gonna help me kill that son of a skrill." He said, his sneer turning nastier.

No arguments there. There was definitely a correlation between the mysterious attacker and the dragon. Though now that the dragon was dead, she didn't care what happened to her.

Astrid shakily rose to her feet, with Dagur's help, and he threw dirt on the fire, putting it completely out.

"I think he went this way." He said, pointing to a grassy path. Looking closer, she saw spots of the grass that had been flattened. Foot prints.

He handed Astrid her axe, the one he'd been sharpening, and started down said path, Astrid close behind.

She felt hopeless and shut down.

Her friends: dead.

Her boyfriend: dead.

That dragon took _everything_ from her. She guessed Dagur could relate. Heather had been amongst the fallen.

She lost her soulmate, but he'd lost his sister.

For once, she and Dagur were on equal ground, of equal understanding.

After walking for what seemed like hours, they finally saw a suspicious orange glow in the distance.

A fire.

"That has to be him," Dagur turned to her, eyeing her warily, "Are you ready to end this?"

She nodded and they pressed on.

Minutes later, she found herself hiding behind a tree, the enemy's campfire only a few feet away.

Dagur had circled around, hoping to surround her.

She heard his signal, a wild war cry, and charged from her hiding place, screaming in rage.

All her hurt, her pain, her sorrow and rage. All of her pent up emotions pushed her forward.

The figure, who had been hunched over the fire, stood swiftly, jumping backwards to avoid the double attacks.

He was hooded and had his face covered by a black leathery cloth.

His whole wardrobe consisted of oddly familiar looking black scaly leather, with thick ridges down his back.

He silently dodged each of their wild attacks, making no attack.

Until Dagur threw a right hook.

The enemy grabbed his fist mid-punch, stopping the momentum entirely without as much as a flinch.

The hand, also covered in black material, began to constrict.

Dagur made a pained face, and tried to jerk his hand back, but to no avail.

Astrid flinched at the loud snaps and crunches Dagur's hand made, and at the loud screams of pain the Berserker howled.

The enemy gave on swift kick to his side. More crunching.

She watched frozen in surprise and horror as the Enemy grabbed Dagur's axe, and swung at his neck.

It bit deep, and Dagur was no more.

The enemy began to laugh.

It was chilling, high pitched, and oddly familiar.

"Who… Who are you?" Astrid whispered, now stricken with fear.

"Who are you?" The enemy repeated. The voice was still very familiar.

It was a female's voice.

Astrid gasped slightly when she realized who's it was.

It was her own.

The enemy, still chuckling cruelly, whipped its hood and face covering away, revealing her own face, gleefully smiling at her.

"What is this?" Astrid asked.

"I'm you, silly!" The other Astrid responded, still laughing, "Just better."

Before Astrid could respond, other Astrid kicked her broken arm, causing a fresh spasm of pain.

She didn't scream though. She wouldn't give… herself… the satisfaction.

"Well, aren't you strong? I don't remember you being this silent when I gutted your friends like fish. When I killed your boyfriend…" Other Astrid said, wiggling her eyebrows.

"You… You didn't kill him… that damn dragon did." Astrid could only whimper.

"Well, that's not nice. Do I look like a dragon to you? Does this leather suit make me look that fat?" Other Astrid winked, "I killed him, and I'm going to kill you. Slowly. I've only ever had dragon before… I wonder what you'll taste like~"

Astrid, now revolted, stood again, shakily, and gripped her own axe in a defensive pose.

"I'm… Not… Done… Yet…" She huffed, her vision swimming from the pain.

"No… I guess you're not. Ya know… I am having more fun than I've ever had before. Dragons aren't as articulate as you are… They don't run or fight back, they just lay there. Especially the Nadders… You know they taste like chicken, right?"

"Shut up, you gross bi-" Astrid began, sickened at the thought of eating dragons as a meal.

"Actually… in commemoration of this fun, I'm going to give you a fighting chance." Other Astrid said, interrupting her, grinning and pointing at her limp limb.

The horrible pain evaporated instantly, and she felt something snap, but it felt good. Like the feeling you get after cracking your neck or knuckles.

"What? How did you-" Astrid began, but once again, Other Astrid cut her off.

"Enough chit chat. I healed you, you don't need to know how. Let's fight."

Other Astrid launched towards her counterpart, axe raised above her head and a wicked looking smile on her face.

Good Astrid, now unhindered by pain, through her fist out, feeling satisfaction as her fist broke O.A.'s nose.

She felt the crunch.

"Ohaahahaa, I love when they fight back."

The two were equally matched. Other than a broken nose, Astrid couldn't land a hit, but neither could Other Astrid.

"Stay. Still. And. DIE!" Other Astrid said exasperatedly, punctuating each word with a swing.

"Make me, bitch." Astrid snarled back.

Her dark counterpart was strong and fast, but Astrid had a secret weapon of her own.

She was not afraid to die, as long as she took the other with her.

She charged forward, finally managing to catch her evil self off guard, and shoulder bashed her into a nearby tree.

Other Astrid collapsed in a heap, her axe having left her fist in the impact.

Real astrid stood over her, axe raised.

"Haha… You can't do it… You can't take an unarmed life…" Other Astrid wheezed.

"Ya know," Astrid said, using a smug voice similar to that which her evil persona had used, "Normally I'd agree… But you know what? I don't give a damn anymore."

With that, Other Astrid's eyes widened in surprise, and her axe came down, beheading her opponent.

Silence.

No… not silence. She could hear the wind blowing through the trees, rustling the leaves.

It was peaceful at first, but the wind picked up force.

The trees began to creak, leaves flew like bullets.

Astrid looked around in surprise.

A tornado?

Now?

She heard a great snap, and spun around just in time to see a large tree trunk speeding in her direction.

She was too slow.

Blackness overtook her.

"Astrid! She's waking up! Oh my gods, ASTRID!"

She heard the voice. IT was very familiar, but once again, she couldn't place it.

Her head felt like a blacksmith's anvil after a long day of hard work.

She should have died. How was she alive?

She wanted to have died, why was she still cursed to live?

She felt something brush her hand, flinching at the contact.

Her eyes shot open, but her sight was blurry and unfocused.

Slowly, her pupils adjusted.

Slowly, a face took shape above her.

Red/brown hair, long face, and green eyes.

As her vision began clearer, her mind went into overdrive.

It was Hiccup. Staring at her with a worried expression on his face.

It had to be a dream. But she wasn't underwater.

"Astrid… You're alive… Thank the gods!"

Hiccup was alive!


	9. Chapter 9

Astrid could only stare in blank shock.

Sure, she'd seen Hiccup recently, but that was her imagination.

This was real, she knew it.

"Astrid? Are you okay?" Hiccup spoke softly, staring at her with concern.

"…"

"Astrid? Is… Is there something wrong?" He asked, fear creeping into his eyes.

Her own eyes began tearing up.

Several emotions suddenly flooded into her mind.

Anger. 'How can he be so… calm?'

Sadness. 'This is only a dream. Or I'm dead…'

Happiness. 'At least if I'm dead, I can be with my friends again.'

Horror. 'Oh my gods…' Fishlegs' glassy eyes and her friends panicked screams haunted her memories.

Fear. 'Where is that dragon, and… where is **_she_**?'

More and more tears welled in her eyes as her mind spiraled.

Hiccup noticed, "GOTHI! SOMETHING'S HAPPENING!" He shouted, sounding equally as panicked.

There was a bang as the door instantly swung open, and the wrinkled face of the Town Healer filled her vision.

'No… No… I want to see him!' her mind screamed, but her arms only weakly pushed at the older woman.

Soft hands suddenly gripped her arms. Soft, but stern.

Hiccup's hands.

At his mere touch, she relaxed.

'Hi-…" She tried to call to him, but her mouth was very dry.

"Shhhh…. Here, drink this." She felt a cup press to her lips, and she drank greedily, not realizing how thirsty she was. Hiccup's face had dominated her mind.

"Hiccup… You're… Alive…" She breathed heavily after guzzling the liquid.

"Of course I am… I should be saying that to you! You've been out for weeks! I was really… worried."

Gothi backed away, and Hiccup once again stole her vision.

His eyes were wet too.

Unable to stand it, she reached her head up, kissing him on the cheek.

A small part of her mind half expected this reality to blink away, just like her dream. But it didn't.

For the umpteenth time in her weeks in hell, she cried.

For the first time, however, she cried out of happiness.

"So… I died?" Hiccup asked.

They sat around a slightly familiar table settled in the Dragon Academy.

"It was… is… never something I want to see again. I wouldn't wish it on anyone, even Snotlout." She said, giving him a sideways glance.

"Hey!"

"After… _that_ … it was a weird haze. Weeks, but felt like only a few moments… like I was reading what was happening on a page in a weird fiction… But when Ruffnut found me…"

"What? I was there too? How'd I look? Was I awesome?" Ruffnut cut in excitedly.

"For once, you really helped. I kinda… faded… from you guys, but Ruff helped me back on track. We met… here, actually… with almost the same table. We-." She remembered all her anger had poured out on them, ending with a vow to kill the Black Dragon. "We were going to do a terrible thing. Dagur and Heather showed up, and we went after the Dragon."

"Astrid, that's understandable, at the very least for a Viking. If something had…" he mumbled something, "... then… I'd be well on my way going after that thing, too."

She smiled, though somewhat darkly.

This was depressing.

"Well, we found it. And that's when things went weird. Nothing we did could even hurt it, until we all worked together. Then… I got knocked out. When I woke up, things got weirder. It was me. A bigger, faster… darker me. I'd like to say it was my complete opposite, but… if you hadn't have trained the Dragons, who knows?" She said, shivering a little. "I… killed… me, then blacked out and woke up in Gothi's hut, just like the first time."

Silence. Even Snotlout looked completely surprised.

"So… you… dreamt or hallucinated that I was gone, went to kill a dragon, and ended up fighting yourself?" Hiccup asked, his mind working on something of an explanation.

"That sums it up, kinda."

"Well, I didn't die, obviously. The dragon hit you with some weird, chunky, blue slime, and you were down. Fishlegs found some tiny Grimora-like dragons in the goop, and sure enough, you had some on your arm. To be honest, we didn't take it off till a few hours before you woke up."

"As for your dream… I might have an idea. Maybe… after you hallucinated… losing H… you felt angry at Dragons? But, with all residual caring and love for the creatures, you had a minor mental break? When you went to kill something, your mind took your rage and hurt, and personified it? Creating the dark version of yourself?" Tuffnut theorized.

More silence, accompanied by startled and total shocked stares.

"What? I have ideas." Tuff said with a huff.

"Ooookay…." Hiccup said, shaking his head, "That idea making complete and logical sense aside, you're back, and that's all that matters."

"You're all that matters to me." She said, somewhat shyly.

He kissed her lightly as her friends continued to stare at Tuffnut in shock.

As the reunited couple left the Academy, Astrid suddenly thought of something.

"Hey, Hiccup… this isn't really important, but… did you ever name that breed of Black Dragon?"

"I… don't think we did. Fishlegs had some ideas… Terrible Darkness and stuff like that, but none of them really… stuck."

"Well… I have an idea." She said, kissing him more deeply.

She really missed that.

"Huh? Well, what you have?"

"Nightmare."

 **A/N: Well, that's all I got for a main storyline… never was good at writing fluff, but… whatevs. Hope you guys enjoyed it, and know I already have another idea in the works. Possible summary: "Hiccup, always the laughingstock of Berk, finally meets a friend who could turn the tables. Now the Black Rider of Berk, Hiccup's life takes a turn for the sinister." Let me know if you'd want to read!**

 **And as always, R, W, and R…**


	10. Final AN for Nightmare

**A/N: I forgot mentions and stuff for the Reviewers!**

 **From the top**

 **Last Minute Guest: If people had chosen a different direction a while ago (I gave them a choice), either Hiccup would have stayed dead, or Astrid would have had to deal with losing her friends one by one until she went crazy and... well... the story gets REALLY dark. So don't thank me, thank the readers. :) I am evil sometimes.**

 **Guest: I certainly will. Hiccstrid is in my top 3 OTPs of all shows.**

 **Guest: Well, unless you are insinuating I am purposefully deleting your reviews, which I am not, I don't know why they aren't there. Also, not the biggest fan, but I'm familiar with a lot of his works.**

 **That's pretty much it. Thank you all again for reading AND REVIEWING. I love reading your reviews. I like how writing is a two way street, in a way. The RWBY fandom people… don't leave a lot of reviews. Pretty much at least two reviews per chapter for HTTYD guys? I really enjoy that. I enjoy interacting with my readers, even indirectly.**

 **So yeah….**

 **Also, if anyone has questions on anything in the story, feel free to ask. I may not have explained something correctly or at all, so feel free to ask. Also point out plot holes (I wrote to avoid them, but might have missed one) and other errors. That's what Reviews are for, making writing styles better.**

 **Anyway, this is RedCrescent, signing off (for now). See you in the next story!**

 **'** **Black Rider of Berk' (I like that title)**


	11. Announcement as a question

A/N: I know I'm not really supposed to make an entire entry as an authors note, but I wanted to so... Anyhoo, Here's a question for y'all: If I were to make this into a series, would you read it?

That's all... Except this: It will involve spoilers for HTTYD RTTE S5, now available on Netflix, so please read that before reading my possible next fic.

-RWBYRedReaper out... for now


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